WASHINGTON — President Trump opened his State of the Union address on Tuesday night with a forceful defense of his administration’s record, casting his first year back in office as a period of renewed economic growth and reinvigorated police forces that have made America the “hottest country anywhere in the world.”

“Our country is winning again,” Trump said. “In fact, we are winning so much that we do not know what to do about it.”

Speaking before a joint session of Congress, the president boasted about what he views as economic wins, touting the U.S. has made a “turnaround for the ages,” since his second term began.

The president reiterated that his administration has delivered on campaign promises, pointing to a decline in gas prices and success at the border, where illegal immigration crossings have declined.

“Today, our border is secure, our spirit is restored, inflation is plummeting and incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before, and our enemies are scared. Trump said, drawing applause and chants of “USA! USA!” from Republicans as Democrats stayed silent.

Trump once again boasted foreign investments of $18 trillion — a figure that has been disputed by many economists, and the White House’s own data. The U.S. posted a trade deficit for 2025, not a surplus, and foreign direct investments were about 23% lower in the first year of Trump’s second term than during the Biden years.

The event unfolded against the backdrop of a widening Democratic protest and mounting resistance from lawmakers who are standing by to balk at the president’s remarks.

More than 30 congressional Democrats boycotted the address altogether, while others attended alternative events designed to compete with the president’s messaging.

“I think we are going to hear two different States of the Union: One from the president that is going to be full of lies and then you are going to hear the truth,” California Sen. Alex Padilla, who will deliver the Democrats’ Spanish-language response, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Democrats who skipped the president’s formal address to Congress said they were doing so because they do not want to give credence to Trump. Others showed their opposition by inviting guests who have been affected by his agenda.

California Democrat Rep. Robert Garcia invited Annie Farmer, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender whose trafficking crimes have dogged Trump since he returned to office a year ago.

“I’ve invited Annie to the State of the Union so she can join other survivors and remind the President of his refusal to release all of the Epstein files,” Garcia wrote Monday in a post on X.

The Democratic opposition highlights the tense political moment that Trump is facing early in his second term, when the stakes are high for Republicans as they seek to keep control of Congress ahead of the midterm elections.

Trump was expected to frame the moment as one defined by economic successes and fulfilled campaign promises particularly as it related to his administration carrying out an immigration crackdown.

He was expected to appeal to his religious base as well. Trump has invited Erika Kirk, the widow of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and intended to use her presence to bring attention to the “tremendous revival of faith” that has taken place since Kirk’s assassination, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.

“The president will call on Congress to ‘firmly reject political violence against our fellow citizens’ with Charlie Kirk’s widow in the chamber,” Leavitt said.

The president’s remarks could also shed light on the president’s thinking regarding international conflicts brewing in the Middle East and in Mexico as Trump pressures its southern neighbor to curb drug trafficking.

Another potential issue that could come up in the address is the topic of tariffs, more so after the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Trump’s preferred tariffs policy was illegal and could not stand without the approval of Congress.

Trump has been adamant that he intends to impose new tariffs in different ways, and has suggested he should not need congressional approval to do so. If Trump insists on imposing new tariffs, his push will be at odds with Republican leaders.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters on Monday that it would be a “challenge to find consensus on any path forward on the tariffs, on the legislative side.”

However Trump handled the issue of tariffs would underscore the existential moment that Congress is in as it navigates the Trump administration’s second term.

In recent months, Trump’s willingness to sideline Congress in major policy decisions — whether it is trade or national security — have exposed fractures within his own party and deepened partisan divisions.

Tuesday night’s event could highlight those tensions.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has been critical of Trump’s use of military force without congressional approval since his administration began blowing up alleged drug boats on the Caribbean Sea late last year.

As Trump says he is considering a military attack on Iran, Schiff is once again raising concerns that Trump is stoking broader conflicts abroad.

“Our allies don’t trust us. Our adversaries don’t fear us,” Schiff said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “When the next crisis comes — and it will come, and it may even be caused by this president — we will find ourselves isolated.”

Trump’s push to have the federal government assert more control over elections could also expose some fractures.

In May, at the behest of Trump, the Justice Department began demanding voter registration data from states across the country. Democrats see the move as a pretext for bogus voter fraud claims down the line, as congressional Republicans tee up new barriers to voter registration through the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

“The Trump administration is not being shy about threatening to undermine and steal this November election,” Padilla said. “They know that their record is not just unpopular but has been so harmful to working families that their only hope to stay in power is to initiate a voter purge.”

Democrats’ concerns have been heightened by comments made by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week in which she outlined plans to station federal immigration agents at polling stations “to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders”

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